Chapter 39: Five Stems of Bitter Hemp

  "It would be great if there were some more gains on the way back. In the future, spiritual medicine is indispensable for cultivation, and the more the better. Having one more stored in hand is equivalent to increasing one's power by a bit."

  Li Ran thought of this, still licking his lips, identifying the direction, and rushing towards the exit of the Misty Valley. After several days of traveling, he saw a majestic mountain in front of him again, its dense foliage making it necessary to look up at it, inspiring awe and reverence.

  Li Rando was somewhat excited, this mountain peak was the Ling Mountain where he discovered the cave mansion, and in this mountain, he achieved the fate of the little sword immortal. Li Rando didn't know what kind of superior immortal had established the cave mansion and left behind the little sword, but his heart was filled with infinite gratitude towards him.

  Li Ruo is now on the back of this mountain, and after crossing the peak, it will take a few more days to get out of the valley.

  Li Ruo Knife quickened his pace, getting closer and closer to Xiong Mountain, darting out of the forest and rushing towards the foot of the mountain. As he turned around a high mountain wall, a flash of swords and knives in front of him made Li Ruo Knife suddenly stunned.

  Li Ran's footsteps came to a halt as he discovered three men in purple robes surrounding a semicircular light shield, exerting themselves to slash at it. Amidst the sharp whistling of the wind, the energy within the light shield was being continuously depleted.

  Li Ran's eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, and between the mountain wall and the majestic mountain, a small mountain valley was formed, with a radius of several hundred feet. The valley was warm and bright, and the mountain wind was as gentle as if it had solidified. That light cover was like an inverted bowl, with a shallow green base that shone brightly, and the range of dozens of feet in the valley was surrounded by the light cover.

  Witnessing this scene, Li Ran's heart violently shook: "Is it a seal? Is it a Seal Spirit Array?"

  In his previous life, Li Ruo Dao's lover, Cheng Su Su, was well-versed in the art of seals. Li Ruo Dao had learned a thing or two from her, and he could tell that this light shield seal was grand and mysterious, its intricate design beyond imagination, containing something too profound and complex.

  In the faint green glow, it was clearly a field, only now this field had withered away, without any crops, and only on the edge of the soil ridge were five solitary one-foot-high sword-shaped grasses left.

  Li Ran's knife eyes recognized it at a glance, wasn't that just bitter hemp grass? A kind of spiritual medicine, considered ordinary, but looking at these several stalks of bitter hemp grass, they had actually grown to over a foot tall, how many years of medicinal age would that take, hundreds of years?

  Li Ran's breathing suddenly became heavy when he saw this.

  He vaguely understood in his heart.

  This mountain valley was originally a medicinal field, guarded by a forbidden spell. However, the master may have long since left, and the medicine fields were all harvested, leaving only a few stalks of bitter hemp that no one cared about remaining.

  However, after hundreds of years have passed, it's probably impossible to estimate the medicinal properties that have accumulated inside these bitter hemp plants over such a long period of time.

  Who is the owner of this medicine field?

  Li Ran didn't need to think much to guess that the medicine field was behind the cave, and it must have been left by the owner of the cave back then.

  Looking at the three purple-robed men desperately chopping at the seal, it's clear they want to exhaust the seal's energy and break through, then pick out the bitter hemp from inside.

  Countless times have passed, this seal has been like a candle in the wind for years, on the verge of being extinguished at any moment, but the seal is too profound, and it's unknown when it will be broken with just these few people's strength.

  Li Ruo carried a long sword on his back and walked towards the mountain pass.

  If he is considered the successor of the cave master, then the few spiritual herbs in this medicinal field are his for the taking.

  In the distance, an old man with yellowish skin was approaching. The three men in purple clothes put away their swords, slightly panting, turned their heads to look at each other, and all furrowed their brows tightly.

  "Big brother, an old man is coming over to stir up trouble. Let's chase him away. If he doesn't leave and instead sticks around shamelessly, I don't mind giving him a bloody nose."

  "Really? This old man actually dares to intervene in something our Gong Sun family has set our sights on?"

  The person in the purple robe in the middle stopped the two emotional junior brothers with one hand and said in a low voice:

  "Don't be in a hurry, haven't you noticed that this old man also has a cultivation base of five layers of Jingyuan..."

  "Senior brother, you and I both have fifth-grade strength, Yu Feng also has fourth-grade power. The three of us are still afraid that old man won't be enough?"

  The person in the purple robe smiled slightly and shook his head slowly:

  "No, I didn't mean that. You see, if we rely solely on the three of us, when can this seal be broken? Let's get that old man over here too, and with the four of us working together, once the seal is broken, we can then get rid of him, won't it..."

  The two men beside him heard this and their eyes lit up at the same time, both shocked and delighted: "Gao, Shixiong, your method is too brilliant, haha, let's do it that way, let that old man be our gun."

  Li Ruo slowly walked over and stopped three zhang away, shouting:

  "Three yuan, want help?"

  The purple-robed man in the middle stepped forward, saluting Li Nian with a bow: "I am Gong Sun Chuan. The three of us were just worrying about the seal here, and it's great that you're willing to help, brother. With our combined strength, we can break this damn seal even faster."

  Li Ran Jian was stunned once again upon hearing this:

  "Gongsun Boat? Are you people from the Gongsun family?"

  Gongsun Chuan saw Li Ruo's expression and feared that he would scare him away, so he quickly put on a smile:

  "This brother, our Gong Sun family may have a strong influence, but we will never bully others with it. Don't worry, let's join forces to break the seal, and when the time comes, we'll divide the spiritual medicine according to our contributions."

  The two people beside him also rushed forward:

  "That's right, brother Shifu. Our Gong Sun family has always been fair and won't cheat people for no reason. Moreover, we still need to rely on Brother Shifu's power, and only by joining forces with the four of us can we have a chance to break the seal."

  Li Ran's knife was unknowingly being sharpened, he slowly nodded and walked over to the pale green light shield, stopping beside it.

  Those three have been chopping here for three days, and they're already fed up. Having an extra pair of hands to break through the seal as soon as possible is a joy beyond measure. As for breaking the seal, does this old man still want to leave? Look at his bulging package and that heavy gourd. Those things will soon become their spoils.

  The three men in purple robes exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

  Gongsun Chen walked past the two junior brothers, saying in a very low voice: "Save your energy for breaking the seal later, after the seal is broken, there will be another battle. The three of us must try to settle this ignorant old man as soon as possible."

  Two junior brothers showed a faint cold smile on their faces and nodded slightly.

  Gongsun Ship walked over and stood still a few feet away from Li Ruo Knife, then suddenly raised his treasured sword and shouted at Li Ruo Knife:

  "Alright, let's get started, senior."

  Gongsun Ship led the way, with a single sword slash towards the seal. The light shield remained still, and the energy inside rippled slightly, being lightly dissolved by this one sword.

  The other two purple-robed figures also swung their swords in unison, executing a three-move combo. With a whooshing sound, they gradually dimmed the light of the barrier with an unyielding determination akin to the foolish old man moving mountains.

  Li Ran nodded slightly, turned around and drew out his long sword, furrowed his brow and thought to himself: "If it's like this, when can I break the seal? The longer it takes, the more likely something unexpected will happen..."

  Li Ruo's long sword was held in front of his chest, and he muttered to himself. The three people in the distance furrowed their brows in confusion, unsure what Li Ruo meant. Just as they were about to urge him on, a faint golden light flashed on Li Ruo's long sword, and with a swift stroke, it pierced into the light shield, slashing horizontally. The three people only felt the light shield violently shaking, and the energy inside was rapidly pouring out like a bursting dam.

  The entire forbidden light shield's light dimmed by a whole level at once.

  Li Ruo's sword was so powerful that it could accomplish what three of them could in one day.

  The three men in purple robes couldn't help but stop their hacking at the seal, and involuntarily jumped back, staring with eyes wide open, cold sweat breaking out on their faces.

  "How could this be? How could this be......"

  Li Ruo's sword scared them all off.

  Li Ran's heart was filled with excitement and joy, as he merged the secret pattern into his sword. His entire body was filled with a powerful energy, and his spirit and physical strength were perfectly combined. With this, he gained insight into the momentum of heaven and earth. As he drew his sword, the wind and clouds moved, and this one sword, full of profound meaning, truly had an extraordinary power that was unlike any ordinary sound.

  Li Ran's knife was extremely excited, and his mind secretly thought about the secret pattern. The meaning of the secret pattern flowed from his arm directly into the sword, and three swords were drawn in a row around him, forming a sword flower. With a slanting lift and a stabbing motion, he saw that the energy inside the light shield of the ban was dropping rapidly, and the entire ban was becoming increasingly dimmer, its color losing its luster.

  The prohibition on light shields was shaking violently, as if it would burst like a bubble at any moment.

  The power of the Fivefold Essence combined with the sword intent was so mighty that even Li Ran's knife couldn't help but secretly admire it.

  Three men in green robes simultaneously let out a loud cry, their faces pale as they retreated another step back, extremely distressed in their hearts.

  They thought that after the ban was lifted, they would get rid of this old man, but who would have thought that this old man was such a pervert.

  Look at the power of his sword, it's just that the two of them tied together can't even withstand one of his swords.

  "But this old man obviously only has fivefold strength, how can his sword have such strong power?" The smallest Gong Sun Yuefeng was about to cry, and muttered with a bitter face:

  "My elixir, my elixir."

  If Li Ran's actions continue like this, will there be any spiritual medicine left for them when the time comes? The person who wanted to rob was robbed instead, probably the most frustrating thing in the world.

  Gongsun Chuan's face changed several times, and finally he steeled himself, quietly pulling out a rough talisman from his sleeve, saying in an extremely low voice:

  "I sent a message to the family elder, asking the elders to hurry over. The spiritual medicine in the restricted area is not trivial, and it's impossible for us three to monopolize it alone. If the elder gets it, they will also divide it among us, and absolutely won't let that old man occupy it all by himself."

  Those two men in purple robes looked at each other with a bitter expression and nodded simultaneously, there was nothing else they could do.

  Li Ranno's long sword was like the wind, with countless swords going down, the essence of energy was endless, and the feeling of the sword intent became more and more pure and smooth. The long sword containing secret patterns made the light shield energy sizzle, Li Ranno chopped with great joy.

  Before he knew it, a soft whooshing sound was heard, and the restrictive light shield that had stood for countless years shattered in Li Ran's hand, revealing the medicine field inside.

  With the power of Jianyi's will, this kind of speed in breaking the seal made Liranko also extremely relieved.

  Li Ran's face was filled with joy, and he quickly walked towards the edge of the medicine field where a few lonely bitter hemp plants were growing. He took out his dagger and carefully dug up all five one-foot-tall bitter hemp plants, holding them in his hand, feeling extremely fulfilled.

  Unexpectedly, before leaving the valley, he would find five more of such precious spiritual herbs.

  "My savings have become even more substantial now."